Savannah Unveils Landmark Lithium Reserve to Strengthen Europe’s Supply Chain

Highlights

• Savannah Resources has declared its first JORC-compliant Ore Reserve for the Barroso Lithium Project in Portugal.
• The newly declared Reserve provides the foundation for the project's initial production plan and Definitive Feasibility Study.
• Updated mineral resources and future exploration opportunities could support a longer operational life for the project.

The UK mining sector continues to attract attention as companies advance projects that support the global transition towards cleaner energy technologies. Against this backdrop, Savannah Resources Plc (LSE:SAV), a mineral exploration and development company focused on lithium assets, has announced a major milestone for its flagship Barroso Lithium Project in northern Portugal. The declaration of the project's maiden JORC-compliant Ore Reserve marks an important step in the evolution of one of Europe's most significant hard-rock lithium developments and provides a stronger technical foundation for future mine development.

The latest announcement also includes an updated JORC Mineral Resource Estimate, reinforcing the scale of the Barroso project while highlighting additional opportunities for future resource conversion and mine expansion. Together, these developments represent another significant chapter in the company's long-term strategy to develop a sustainable source of lithium for the European battery supply chain.

A Major Milestone for the Barroso Lithium Project

The declaration of an Ore Reserve is widely regarded as one of the most significant milestones in the lifecycle of any mining project. Unlike a mineral resource, which identifies the existence of economically interesting material, an Ore Reserve demonstrates that a portion of that resource has been evaluated in sufficient detail to support economically viable mining under defined technical and commercial assumptions.

Savannah Resources has now reached that stage with the Barroso Lithium Project. The newly FTSE AIM 100 Index declared Probable Ore Reserve has been estimated from the project's measured and indicated mineral resources, providing greater confidence in future mine planning and operational scheduling.

The Reserve has been prepared in accordance with the internationally recognised JORC Code, which establishes strict reporting standards for mineral resources and ore reserves across the mining industry. Compliance with this framework provides transparency and consistency for stakeholders evaluating mining projects worldwide.

Reserve Supports Initial Mine Development

The newly declared Ore Reserve forms the foundation of the project's Phase One Definitive Feasibility Study.

A Definitive Feasibility Study represents one of the final technical evaluations before a mining project progresses towards construction. It incorporates detailed engineering, mine scheduling, processing design, operating assumptions, environmental considerations and financial analysis.

By establishing a sizeable Reserve capable of supporting the planned production profile, Savannah Resources has strengthened the technical basis for advancing the Barroso project through its next development stages.

The company noted that the Reserve was prepared using conservative assumptions regarding future lithium concentrate pricing, providing additional confidence in the robustness of the mine plan under varying market conditions.

Updated Resource Confirms Project Scale

Alongside the maiden Reserve, Savannah Resources also released an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Barroso Lithium Project.

Although the overall resource base remains broadly consistent with previous estimates, the latest update incorporates revised geological modelling for the Aldeia deposit following additional evaluation work.

The updated estimate confirms that the Barroso project continues to rank among Europe's largest spodumene-hosted lithium deposits, reinforcing its strategic importance as Europe seeks to diversify supplies of critical battery materials.

Lithium has become an increasingly important commodity due to its central role in rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles, renewable energy storage systems and consumer electronics.

As governments seek to strengthen domestic supply chains for critical minerals, projects such as Barroso have gained increasing strategic relevance.

Several Deposits Contribute to the Reserve

The Ore Reserve incorporates material from multiple deposits located across the Barroso concession area.

These include Aldeia, Grando, NOA, Pinheiro and Reservatrio, each contributing to the overall mine inventory.

Developing multiple deposits within a single project can provide operational flexibility by allowing mine planners to optimise production sequencing over the life of the operation while managing ore quality and processing efficiency.

The distribution of ore across several deposits also reflects the extensive exploration work undertaken across the concession over recent years.

Resource Conversion Remains an Important Opportunity

While the maiden Reserve represents a significant achievement, Savannah Resources has also identified further opportunities to expand the reserve base over time.

Not all existing mineral resources have yet been converted into Ore Reserves.

The project still contains additional measured and indicated resources that may be evaluated for future reserve conversion following further engineering studies and mine planning work.

Furthermore, inferred resources remain outside the current Reserve because they require additional drilling to improve geological confidence before they can be considered for reserve estimation.

This creates a pathway for future resource upgrades as exploration continues across the project area.

Exploration Target Adds Long-Term Optionality

Beyond the current mineral resources, the Barroso project also includes an exploration target covering additional prospective mineralisation.

Exploration targets differ from mineral resources because they represent conceptual estimates based on available geological information rather than verified mineral inventory.

Additional drilling and geological investigation will be required before any exploration target can be converted into mineral resources.

Nevertheless, the presence of significant exploration potential demonstrates that the project may continue evolving long after initial mining operations commence.

Should future drilling confirm additional mineralisation, the operational lifespan of the project could eventually extend beyond current mine planning assumptions.

Europe's Search for Critical Minerals

The announcement comes at a time when Europe is placing increasing emphasis on securing reliable supplies of critical raw materials.

Lithium is considered one of the key minerals required for the energy transition because it forms an essential component of lithium-ion batteries.

As electric vehicle manufacturing expands across Europe, governments and manufacturers have sought to reduce reliance on imported raw materials by encouraging domestic mining and refining projects.

The Barroso Lithium Project has already received recognition as a Strategic Project under the European Critical Raw Materials Act.

This designation reflects the project's potential contribution to strengthening Europe's supply chain resilience while supporting broader industrial policy objectives.

Domestic production of battery materials has become an increasingly important priority as geopolitical uncertainty and supply chain disruptions continue to reshape global commodity markets.

Importance of JORC Compliance

The use of the JORC Code remains an important element of mining project reporting.

JORC standards require independent technical assessment and transparent disclosure of geological information, estimation methodologies and economic assumptions.

For mining companies, compliance helps establish credibility with financial markets, regulators and industry participants.

The distinction between Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves is particularly important.

Resources indicate the presence of mineralisation with reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction.

Ore Reserves represent the economically mineable portion of those resources after detailed technical, engineering, environmental and commercial assessments have been completed.

The declaration of a maiden Reserve therefore represents a higher level of project maturity than resource reporting alone.

Conservative Planning Approach

One notable aspect of Savannah Resources' latest announcement is the conservative pricing assumptions used during reserve estimation.

Mining companies often evaluate projects using long-term commodity price assumptions rather than current spot market prices.

This approach seeks to avoid overestimating economic viability during periods of elevated commodity prices while ensuring that mine plans remain resilient across commodity price cycles.

Using conservative assumptions may provide additional confidence that the project remains economically robust under a range of future market conditions.

Such an approach is generally regarded as prudent during feasibility-stage project development.

Development Progress Continues

The declaration of the maiden Reserve follows several years of geological exploration, resource definition, environmental assessment and engineering studies.

Developing a mining project requires the completion of numerous technical, regulatory and permitting milestones before construction can begin.

Each stage progressively reduces project uncertainty while improving confidence in future development planning.

The latest Reserve declaration therefore represents another important step in advancing the Barroso project towards potential production.

Strengthening Europe's Battery Supply Chain

The importance of lithium extends well beyond the mining industry.

Demand for battery materials has grown significantly as governments encourage cleaner transportation, renewable electricity generation and large-scale energy storage.

Europe has invested heavily in establishing battery manufacturing facilities across multiple countries, increasing the need for reliable regional supplies of lithium raw materials.

Projects capable of supplying domestically sourced spodumene concentrate may play an increasingly important role in supporting these industrial ambitions.

The Barroso project therefore occupies a strategically significant position within Europe's broader critical minerals strategy.

Future Work Remains Ongoing

Although the maiden Ore Reserve marks an important achievement, further work remains before mining operations commence.

Future activities are expected to include ongoing engineering optimisation, permitting, infrastructure planning and additional exploration.

Further drilling may also improve geological confidence across currently inferred resources while evaluating the broader exploration target identified across the concession.

As these programmes continue, the project's technical understanding may evolve further, potentially supporting future reserve updates.

Market Significance

The latest announcement represents a meaningful technical milestone for Savannah Resources and reinforces the strategic importance of the Barroso Lithium Project within Europe's critical minerals landscape.

The combination of a maiden Ore Reserve, an updated Mineral Resource Estimate and identified pathways for future reserve growth demonstrates continued progress in the project's development.

As demand for battery raw materials continues evolving alongside the global energy transition, projects capable of supplying responsibly developed lithium resources are likely to remain an important area of focus across the mining sector.

For Savannah Resources, the latest milestone strengthens the technical foundation of the Barroso project while providing greater visibility over its planned initial development phase. With additional resource conversion opportunities and continued exploration still ahead, the project retains considerable scope for further technical advancement as development activities progress.